Campaigns work through weekend

Kirsten Searer

Monday, Nov. 1, 2004 | 11:34 a.m.

Actor Edward Norton was campaigning Saturday night in what he termed a "tough" Las Vegas neighborhood when a few young men came running up to warn him he could be in danger.

Norton seemed unfazed telling the story on Sunday, talking instead about the spirited political conversations he had with those young men and many other Nevadans this weekend.

"I've been amazed at the level of fire on the streets," said Norton, the star of movies such as "American History X" and "Fight Club." "Clearly this state is up for grabs."

Celebrities and major political figures are descending on the state, ready to root out any voters dragging their feet to the polls. Their message: Nevada could decide this thing on Tuesday.

"This whole election may turn on what happens in Nevada," former President Bill Clinton told a crowd of about 2,500 people Friday at the Clark County Government Center.

This weekend, the campaigns made their final push in Nevada.

Clinton, actor Sean Penn, Norton and former presidential candidate Gen. Wesley Clark all campaigned on behalf of Democratic presidential contender John Kerry this weekend.

Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie made a stop in Green Valley Saturday to rally hundreds of volunteers working for the Bush-Cheney campaign.

"We have got a stiff breeze at our back," he said before dispatching them to visit thousands of doors.

Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., will speak in Henderson today. And actor Leonardo DiCaprio is scheduled to talk to volunteers in a rally with state Democratic leaders.

Recent polls give Bush a 4- to 6-point advantage in the state, but Democrats are touting early voting numbers showing about 5 percent more Democrats than Republicans turned out to vote early in Clark County. In early voting, 271,465 people voted in Clark County. About 64 percent of the state's active voters live in Clark County.

Perhaps more significant were numbers coming out of the conservative Washoe County, where just 18 more Republicans than Democrats cast early ballots. Democrats typically pull strong numbers in Clark County but lose ground in counties such as Washoe.

Those numbers -- combined with the last-minute trip from Cheney -- prompted some Democrats to say the Bush-Cheney camp is getting nervous. Gillespie pooh-poohed that this weekend, saying the party realizes that the war won't be won simply by running television ads. A combination of surrogate visits and grass-roots work will bring Nevada home to Bush, he said.

Plus, Democrats pushed most of their supporters to the polls early, Gillespie said, meaning they could have weaker turnout on Tuesday.

"They cannibalize their Election Day turnout," he said.

The biggest question, both sides agree, is how many of the newly registered voters -- many of them Democrats -- will turn up to vote before polls close on 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Gillespie maintained that Nevada's expanded voter rolls could contain many Democrats that either don't exist or won't bother to vote.

That's where celebrities such as Norton hope to inspire infrequent voters. Norton said he thinks Americans are too sophisticated for celebrities to simply stand on stage with a candidate and nod their heads in agreement. Instead, he said he likes to get out and talk to people, asking voters what their major issues are, and sometimes telling them his opposition to Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

As a New Yorker, he said he's also concerned that Bush hasn't focused enough on homeland security. But he said he most hopes to appeal to young voters of all stripes.

"It helps affirm for them that attention is being paid not just to the election but to them," he said.

Hundreds of volunteers from around the nation worked for Bush in Nevada this weekend, including Jerry and Betsy Vanderbilt, part of the Mighty Texas Strike Force, which was in town to knock on doors.

The retired engineering consultant and nursery schoolteacher from Austin, Texas, said they traveled to Nevada at their own expense because they believe Bush is fighting a successful war on terrorism and has revived the economy.

"The money is well spent," Jerry Vanderbilt said, adding that Bush has "a moral compass that John Kerry doesn't have."

Democratic state Senate candidate Steven Horsford said some early voting lines were three hours long on Friday afternoon. He predicted that polls aren't reflecting the young and minority voters who are turning up to vote.

"Clearly Democrats are winning Nevada," he said. "Kerry's going to win Nevada."

On Sunday evening, a handful of church leaders and Democratic candidates held a get-out-the-vote rally at Victory Missionary Baptist Church, a predominantly black church.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., told the roughly 200 people there that Bush was elected four years ago despite losing the popular vote, and with the unjust suppression of many blacks and other minorities.

And while the nation accepted Bush as president, "he hasn't acted so well" during his time in the White House, Reid said.

The president has worked against increasing the minimum wage, ended overtime pay for millions, turned record budget surplus into deficit, and in Iraq about 1,200 Americans have died, thousands have been injured, and 100,000 Iraqis have died, he said.

Reid also warned the crowd that there may be people at the polls Tuesday trying to scare them away from voting, adding that those people may tend to go after blacks, such as those making up almost all of the audience.

"Let your vote be based on hope not fear," he said, tapping a theme that has become a prominent part of Kerry's campaign speeches.

The Halloween night event was part political and part spiritual, with entertainment provided by three church choirs.

Carruth Hall, bishop from St. Paul Church of God and Christ, also said the possibility of turnover in the Supreme Court is a big issue in this election, and he implored the audience members to vote on Tuesday.

"Take some water with you, take a lunch and don't leave there until you vote," he said. "You have a chance now to right a wrong that's been going on for four years. ... This time it's payback time."

Sun reporter Dan Kulin contributed to this story.